After four years, director Steven Kostanski is finally back with his follow-up to the much-beloved 2020 delight that was PG: Psycho Goreman. This time, Kostanski is back in the realm of horror/comedy, which is where he seems to thrive. With Frankie Freako, he’s taking on late ‘80s/early ‘90s puppet horror in the way only Kostanski can. As evidence of that, we’ve got a brand new clip from the film that takes us to Freak World. That may not make sense now but watch the clip and see for yourself.
The clip opens with our protagonist Conor flying through a portal with the aliens known as Freakos on an unwitting trip to their homeworld of Freak World. It’s loaded with impressive, retro practical effects from miniatures to Tim Burton-style eye-bulging, and yes, quite a few puppets. They ominously head towards the headquarters of the leader of Freak World, Munch. In just this brief clip, as well as the trailer for Frankie Freako that dropped previously, we see how ambitious and bizarre Kostanski’s new movie is, even though he’s clearly not working with a blockbuster budget.
I had the good fortune of seeing this one at Fantastic Fest recently and was delighted. It has the vibe of being someone's favorite movie they rented on VHS at Blockbuster that only a handful of people have ever heard of. It probably had killer box art and was made after Ghoulies became popular. But Kostanski made this movie for those of us living in 2024 with an admirable amount of authenticity. It’s just as funny and well-crafted as Psycho Goreman, while serving as its own thing. The synopsis for the film reads as follows:
“After calling a late-night party hotline that promises out-of-this-world fun, uptight yuppie Conor Sweeney must battle the pint-sized forces of evil unleashed through his phone line, led by the maniacal rock n’ roll goblin.”
Conor Sweeney, Adam Brooks and Kristy Woodworth star, with Matthew Kennedy starring as the titular Frankie Freako. Kostanski wrote the script in addition to his work behind the camera. He also serves as a producer alongside Melanie Murray and Pasha Patriki. The executive producers include Julie Dansker, Garson Foos, Bob Emmer, Jordan Fields, Andrew T. Hunt, Michael Paszt, James Fler, Avi Federgreen and Alison Waxman.
Frankie Freako is in theaters now. For more, check out Fango’s highlights from this year’s Fantastic Fest.
